Budgeting, am I doing it right?

IamZlatan

Hi there folks. Im just looking for some advice on budgeting, I feel I have been doing pretty well, but in the last year or so Ive started dipping into my savings for things I dont budget for, like car tax, tv license, holidays etc. Ive come up with a new monthly budget and Im looking to see if there is anything essential that Im missing....

I have savings of £6500 (kept aside for a deposit on a house)
Additional savings of £1800 (also kept aside for a specific reason)

I take home £1160 per month, this is my budget...

Rent £237.50
Tenants Insurance £6
Virgin Media £25
Diesel £100
Smokes £50
Gas / Electric £60
Savings £100
Xmas Savings £20
Food £200
Pet Insurance £6
Virgin Mobile £20
Car payoff £50 (will have this cleared in about 2 years)
Car tax £20
Car Insurance £45
TV License £7

Total £946.50 leaving me £213.50 for the month.

I should also note that I share a house with my girlfriend, so we split everything 50/50.

The only thing I havent included in the budget is car repairs but Im thinking of adding an additional £50 to my savings to cover this. Ill just use the £213.50 for any dental / clothes/ entertainment budget for the month.

If we plan any holidays Ill budget it accordingly each month from the leftover money.

Any thoughts? Thanks

grumbler

Looks OK, although you can check against Statement of Affairs in case you missed something.

I hope you don't actually pay your insurances monthly.
Do you really pay 2x£60=£120 for the energy and spend 2x£200 on food?

Also, it's worth considering using savings to pay the car loan off early if penalties are small or zero: Should I Repay Debts or Save?

IamZlatan

Thanks for the link grumbler, Ill give it a look.

I dont pay insurance monthly, I pay it all from my savings then pay the money back into my savings monthly. I want to be ahead of the game next year and have the money in advance.

That is the most we would spend on energy, say in winter we would use a lot of heating if its really cold. Id rather budget more than not have enough, I can always carry over what we dont use.

We've looked at the food bill as something we would try to cut back on, bare in mind this also includes any toiletries, dog food, general household items that we might need.

The car loan is fine, im in the lucky position that my parents could afford to give me a loan, so repayments to them are interest free.

grumbler

Have a look at my signature

IamZlatan

:rotfl:my bad. Bare with me....

badger09

IamZlatan wrote: »

:rotfl:my bad. Bare with me....

you could cut your energy costs by putting some clothes on

IamZlatan

badger09 wrote: »

you could cut your energy costs by putting some clothes on

I like roaming about the house in the buff!

System

Pension contributions?

IamZlatan

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

Pension contributions?

Good call, automatically deducted from wage by employer.

FireWyrm

Why is your TV license only £7. Last I looked it was £12.12 per month. I also dont see council tax, or water for that matter on the list.

What do you get for your 'tenants insurance' exactly and is it the best value for money?

grumbler

FireWyrm wrote: »

Why is your TV license only £7. Last I looked it was £12.12 per month.

IamZlatan wrote: »

...
I should also note that I share a house with my girlfriend, so we split everything 50/50.

144.50/12/2=£6

I don't think you meant nitpicking £1 difference.

Indeed, contents insurance for £12 p.m. is a ripoff. My building+contents costs me less than £10 p.a. after the cashback.